Fles 33cl thuis. Zacht, bloemig, fruitig, wat meloen, licht thee, wat hout, Belgisch gist, wat kruidig. (9-12-2022).

Tripel by this brand new client brewer in Almere in the Dutch province of Flevoland, bottle shared by Craftmember, cheers! Thick, frothy, egg-white, moussy head lacing in shreds over a misty ‘old gold’ beer with ochre to even pale beige-ish tinge at the edges – darker than average for the genre. Aroma of orange zest, ripe cantaloupe or melon in general (quite outspoken), brioche bread, old honey, a bit of caramel, green kiwi, banana peel, sweet flowers, dried thyme, peach, touch of gin, phenolic notes of carraway seed and even fresh paint or rubber. Sweet onset, cleanly fruity, again ripe cantaloupe melon prevailing, along with kiwi, peach and some green banana, softish carb for the style, smooth and bit creamy mouthfeel; sweetish brioche-bready and slightly caramelly maltiness, cereally edges, some honeyish residual sweetness on top but nowhere too sticky – and even, surprisingly, taking a turn towards bitter in the end phase, with a long, even rooty and quinine-like hop bitterness lingering for quite a long time, highlighted by warming gin-like alcohol, a dash of bready yeastiness and phenolic spiciness, the latter becoming perhaps just a tad too enthusiastic. Sleek, rounded profile with an unexpected bitter ending, feeling quite modern for such an old and deeply traditional style – but also sweet, easygoing and accessible. Still, in its general cleanness, slickness and somewhat deviating flavour profile (the melon effect), this feels quite distinct from the vast ocean of highly ‘coriandered’, ‘banana-estered’, candi-sugar-driven tripels flooding the country bordering on the Netherlands in the south.